Monthly Archives: June 2014

We have been very busy the last year with concert tours in California (September 2013 & December-March 2014); China (October-November 2013) and Italy (April 2014).

In Italy we performed at Torino in “Duck, Death and Tulip” by Wolf Erlbruch, realized for two dancers and music for cello & bassoon. It won 1st Prize for Best Performance at the Italian-French Festival: Terre Comuni – Terres Communes 1.-9. April 2014, Torino, Italy. About 10 performances are already set for the spring 2015 and we get new ones almost every day!

Duck, Death and the Tulip (German title: Ente, Tod und Tulpe) is a 2007 children’s book by German author and illustrator Wolf Erlbruch. The book, which deals with death and the afterlife, has been translated into various languages, including Dutch and English, and was adapted in animated and movie format.

Synopsis: The story involves a duck who acquaints a character called Death, who, as it turns out, has been following her all her life. The two become friends, discussing life, death, and what any afterlife might be like. They go diving together and sit in a tree, pondering what would happen to the duck’s lake after her death. The duck reports that some ducks say that they become angels and sit on clouds, looking down on earth. Death says that this is possible since ducks already have wings. Then, she says that some ducks also say that there is a hell, down below, where bad ducks are roasted; Death replies that it’s remarkable what ducks all think of, and says “who knows,” prompting the duck to respond, “so you don’t know either.” In the end, the duck indeed dies, and Death carries her to a river, placing the duck gently in the water and laying the tulip on her: “For a long time he watched her. When she was lost to sight, he was almost a little moved.”

We thought you might enjoy watching, listening and reading! You can watch the video of our performance in Torino here but you’ll have to enter a password: anatramorte.